Name; Keith Jackson
Age; 44
Bands; GLASS HEROES for 17 years.
Role in Band: Singer,Guitar,Writer
How did it all begin?: I saw the Ramones on Don Kirshners Rock Concert
(TV) & saw them the same year live in Detroit. Nuff said…They launched a
thousand bands worldwide that year I’m sure.
Who were your original influences?
I’d have to say Joe & the Clash. Although in the late seventies I listened to
a lot of old pub rock & of course The Ramones. It was in early 1978 that I
discovered the Clash. Having met Joe Strummer after the fact, it would
have to be them. One could talk about Joe for an entire evening and not
come close to describing the man. There’s really nothing to say but that he
was in touch with people, not just as a musician, but as a human being.
You could sit with him outside a venue for hours, smoking & talking about
life in general. He was eloquent, and bigger than life in some ways. I met
him the first time in Detroit at the Masonic Temple “the Clash Take the
Fifth” tour “1979”. Myself and a group of friends waited around in the back
parking lot for them to arrive. He stood out back with us for nearly an hour
prior to their sound check. I was star struck. I also ran into him years later
when they opened for The WHO at the Pontiac Sliver Dome in Detroit. It
wasn’t until he played at the Cajun House in Scottsdale that we actually got
to know one another. Myself and the guys in the Glass Heroes walked with
him down to the Acme bar and drank and yapped for quite awhile after the
show. Joe invited us to come up to Vegas for their House of Everything but
Blues gig. It was great to see him in top form, and talk after the show. We
said our goodbyes and he sadly died 5 months later. The worlds a lot
smaller without him in it period.
I started the benefit shows for www.strummerville.com the following Dec. & I
will continue them for as long as I have breath. He believed in human
kindness, and in understanding. He was real and finding those kind of
people in this business nowadays is a long shot.
Who are your current influences?
Keith: I recently broke down and bought a USB turn table , don’t laugh!!
and have just started digitally recoding my old record collection. So at this
point a question like that could take hours to answer!! lol. So here’s a
couple: The Newtown Nuerotics, the Only Ones, The Ruts and Bruce
Springsteen LOL!
What is your proudest moment as a musician?
I wouldn’t say proud, but a full circle moment indeed would be a few years
ago when we played with the Sex Pistols at the Marquee Theater. We had
spent a couple of hours backstage with the group, and as we were walking
out of the dressing room to play, John Lydon said to Steve Shelton our
guitar player..” Have a horrible show..I know we will and smiled”. Priceless!
What is your most embarrassing moment as a musician ?
Keith: You want the novel? Or a single instance ? lol. Screaming at Alice
Cooper on the road here in Phoenix would be a good one.. He was in a
silver Merc convertible, and he was stopped at an opposite stop sign from
me. My girlfriend and I were waiting for him to go. We waited and waited. So
I screamed “Move you fucking asshole!!”, and he waved and said sorry
Keith!!!LOL!! It’s a long story, but my old band the Beat Angels were his
band for a theater opening here, and he knew me. Talk about “foot in
mouth” lol.
What do you think would have been your path through life if you
had never gotten involved with music? Hard to tell on this one. I’ve
been doing this so long, it’s too late to do anything else, but given the fact
that I was a mess in Detroit long ago, I’d say prison.
Tell us something about you that few people are aware of.
Keith: I have a clown suit with blood stains on it in my closet.
When you look back on your musical path to this point. What are
your deepest regrets? If you're a rocker, and you have regrets, then
you ain’t one. Having regrets about ones past means not owning the things
you’ve done right or wrong!
If you had the opportunity to start over, what would you change?
Not a damn thing! Wait!! Maybe one thing!! I would have hunted down
Richard Blade pre-MTV and killed him.
Please summarize the highlights & lowlights of your musical
career. Playing music, and choosing to sacrifice many things to do so,
including your morals, friends, family and relationships is nothing but Highs
& Lows right?
What are your thoughts on the current "Punk" scene? How much
has it changed or stayed the same since you got into it?
Wow, that’s a question that would take eons to answer. It seems that now
there are many different factions of what is called punk, and the term is a
loose simulation of what it once was, I mean compared to my growing up in
the late 70’s Detroit scene. I actually have a hard time calling it a “scene”, it
was more like a huge family. There were only a hand full of good
independent record labels back then, and we all felt like we were really
making a difference and were part of something. Now it feels like there’s a
lot of kids that get it, but the majority don’t. Lots of fashion’d up brats
apeing something that’s been long gone in spirit. But as we travel around
and play, there’s always a handful of kids that really understand, and want
to go deep into the history, music and honest attitude that created what we
first gen punks consider the core of punk music.
What are your plans musically in the future? We are going to
complete this disc for TKO RECORDS. Rat Scabies (The Damned) has
been producing the bugger, and it’s a good one. There’s no whining, the
lyrics are true, to the point life shit. No self loathing, no crying or sniveling. I
hate a lot of the new groups, bitching about their folks, or their job, or the
girl that hates their guts. Who gives a shit!! Write something that we are all
in together. That’s the kinda music that needs to be heard. I don’t give a
fuck about anyone's suburban California angst. Just because you stopped
getting an allowance, and sleeved yourself with tattoos trying to get some
kinda street cred’ holds no respect in my view. Go try and act tough
somewhere else. Move to Detroit!! lol.
Cheers
